So I watched last year's Tennessee game last night

[BermudaSooner]

Was flipping through the DVR, and saw I had the Tennessee game from last year still on the DVR. So I watched it, beginning to end--pretty much sure I was required to after discovering it. My observations/comments from the game:

1. We looked like a good team. Expectations and hype were still surrounding the team, we were ranked #4 at the time.
2. Trevor Knight looked good--especially in the first half. A couple of mis-reads on the zone read, but his passing was really good for the most part. He did get one pick, but it was at the end of the half and he put the ball on the money. The receiver (I think it was KJ) had it bounce off of his chest and into the hands of the defender.
3. Our defensive line was incredible, and Striker was amazing. We were in Worley's face on almost every play.
4. Funny to hear Herbstreit gush about out defense....if only he knew. Although there were times when he questioned why our DBs were so far off the ball, especially on plays when were bringing pressure. Good point Herbie.
5. The difference between Keith Ford/Alex Ross and Perine is noticable. Perine is just a beast. I can't wait to see him play this year.
6. 2 unfortunate penalties led to the Vols only scores. We would have had a good shot at a shut out without the offsides on Hayes that led to the TD, and the inadvertant face mask on Tapper on his sack that led to the FG.
7. That probably was a fumble on Perine.
8. How did we go from looking like that, to playing like such dog crap further on in the season? Is Tennessee that bad? The team that showed up in the Cotton bowl, TCU, Baylor, OSU, Clemson looked nothing like what we put on the field against the Volunteers.
9. The striped stadium looks pretty cool on TV.
10. why do I still get nervous watching a replay of a game I know the outcome to?

[champions77]

That team got worse every game until we morphed into that Unit that lost to a pathetic osu team. Sure injuries contributed to that, but I believe that BS lost the team when it became apparent that we could not achieve the lofty goals we set before the season.

Same thing is happening to OSU right now. All of the hype about how good they will be, how great their D will be etc. etc. OSU should have finished last year with seven losses. Only for a boneheaded re-kick and Perine's injury did they win. The Pokies finished the year ranked 91st in total D. Their secondary everyone is raving about? Ranked 110th in pass defense.
Gundy has lost 5 and 6 games in two of the last three years. His recruiting classes have been very average. Fools Gold.

[Tear Down This Wall]

Tennessee was terrible last year. If not for a victory over Tennessee-Chattanooga, they would not have qualified for a bowl game. As it was, the win over the FCS school allowed them to go 6-6...the seventh consecutive season that they won seven or fewer games.

Tennessee, They Suck Much
2007: 10-4
2008: 5-7
2009: 7-6
2010: 6-7
2011: 5-7
2012: 5-7
2013: 5-7
2014: 7-6

Tennessee was so bad in 2014, they made Trevor Knight look decent. Tennessee 2015 should be no better than the 2014 version. It doesn't matter where we play them, we should beat them by a minimum of three touchdowns.

They are not the juggernaut they were a decade ago. They are terrible.

[BoulderSooner79]

Tennessee was terrible last year. If not for a victory over Tennessee-Chattanooga, they would not have qualified for a bowl game. As it was, the win over the FCS school allowed them to go 6-6...the seventh consecutive season that they won seven or fewer games.

Tennessee, They Suck Much
2007: 10-4
2008: 5-7
2009: 7-6
2010: 6-7
2011: 5-7
2012: 5-7
2013: 5-7
2014: 7-6

Tennessee was so bad in 2014, they made Trevor Knight look decent. Tennessee 2015 should be no better than the 2014 version. It doesn't matter where we play them, we should beat them by a minimum of three touchdowns.


But.. but.. you said we would be bad in 2015 too. So shouldn't this game be even then?

[graphster]

Tennessee had a lot of really young players last year. And OU kind of collapsed after TCU and K-State, both mentally and physically. If they had played that game at the end of the year, I doubt the result would have been the same.

[BermudaSooner]

Tennessee had a lot of really young players last year. And OU kind of collapsed after TCU and K-State, both mentally and physically. If they had played that game at the end of the year, I doubt the result would have been the same.

That's an interesting point about playing the game at the end of the season. Not often a team gets worse from game 1 to game 13. It certainly happened to OU last year.

[BoulderSooner79]

That's an interesting point about playing the game at the end of the season. Not often a team gets worse from game 1 to game 13. It certainly happened to OU last year.

I think it does happen a fair amount and it is usually due to injuries to key players - especially the QB position. What tOSU did last season after losing the starting QB late was the real exception. OU's nose dive last year was certainly an extreme case though and had more factors than just injuries.

[Tear Down This Wall]

But.. but.. you said we would be bad in 2015 too. So shouldn't this game be even then?

No. What I've said is that we've slid down the slippery slope of mediocrity. Tennessee fans would kill to return to at least mediocrity. They have fallen below it.

And, they have no one to blame but their own stupid athletic department. Twice now, it has hired mid-major coaches to lead their program: first, Derek Dooley and, now, this duckfart Butch Jones.

Their slobbering fanbase and knuckledragging boosters should demand better.

When Tennessee plays us in just over a month, they will hear Boomer Sooner a lot more than they will hear Rocky Top. If not, then Stoops' grip on this thing has slipped even further than any of us could imagine.

[BoulderSooner79]

No. What I've said is that we've slid down the slippery slope of mediocrity. Tennessee fans would kill to return to at least mediocrity. They have fallen below it.

And, they have no one to blame but their own stupid athletic department. Twice now, it has hired mid-major coaches to lead their program: first, Derek Dooley and, now, this duckfart Butch Jones.

Their slobbering fanbase and knuckledragging boosters should demand better.

When Tennessee plays us in just over a month, they will hear Boomer Sooner a lot more than they will hear Rocky Top. If not, then Stoops' grip on this thing has slipped even further than any of us could imagine.

I hope you're right (the hearing Boomer Sooner part). I haven't re-watched that game from last year, but after watching it live my impression was that it was much closer than the score reflected and that we had trouble on the horizon. I certainly did not believe in our 5 rating after that game. We scored early, but then went completely asleep on offense and then needed 2 endzone INTs to keep them from getting back into the game (one was a 100 yard pick 6). Of course both teams will be different, but going on the road in front of 100k will be a test.

[Mazeppa]

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/vols-seeking-middle-linebacker-help-lead-talented-defense-232704842--ncaaf.html

[Mazeppa]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/ncaaf-dr-saturday/tennessee-reinstates-wr-von-pearson-143910465.html

[Mazeppa]

http://www.foxsports.com/college-football/story/photo-five-star-tennessee-freshman-dt-mckenzie-looks-the-part-080615

[Mazeppa]

Tennessee guard Marcus Jackson will undergo potential season-ending surgery, leaving the Volunteers without the most experienced member of an offensive line that allowed the most sacks in the Southeastern Conference last year.


http://sports.yahoo.com/news/vols-jackson-undergo-surgery-could-miss-entire-season-190251357--ncaaf.html

[Tear Down This Wall]

Tennessee guard Marcus Jackson will undergo potential season-ending surgery, leaving the Volunteers without the most experienced member of an offensive line that allowed the most sacks in the Southeastern Conference last year.


http://sports.yahoo.com/news/vols-jackson-undergo-surgery-could-miss-entire-season-190251357--ncaaf.html

Should be a field day for the heat then.